NETSCAPE ANNOUNCES SECURE COURIER, -- A DIGITAL ENVELOPE FOR SECURING
FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS ON THE INTERNET

MASTERCARD AND INTUIT SUPPORT OPEN PROTOCOL FOR ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (July 18, 1995) -- Netscape Communications
Corporation today announced Secure Courier the first open, cross platform
protocol to create a secure digital envelope for financial data on the
Internet. Intuit Inc. and MasterCard International are among companies
announcing that they will support the new protocol for securing online
credit card, debit card, charge card, and micro-financial transactions.

The new open protocol builds on existing industry-standard protocols
including the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), an open protocol used today by
Netscape customers for secure online communications. Secure Courier will
observe the soon-to-be-released MasterCard and Visa security specification
for bank card purchases on open networks. "MasterCard supports Netscape's
development of the Secure Courier protocol as proof of the industry's
willingness to come together around a common standard," said Ed Hogan,
senior vice president at MasterCard.

Compatible across UNIX, Windows and Macintosh operating environments,
Secure Courier increases security for commerce on the Internet by
encrypting a consumer's financial information all the way from his or her
PC to the financial institution. In addition, Secure Courier enables
consumer authentication for merchants. While secure channel protocols such
as SSL encrypt data passing along the network between a client system and
a server, Secure Courier delivers the additional security of keeping the
financial data encrypted -- or in a "secure digital envelope" -- when it
arrives at a merchant's server or at other intermediate points on the net.
This means that the data remains "wrapped" or protected at any site at
which it stops. The Secure Courier protocol decreases the risk of consumer
and merchant fraud, enables global payment security, and reduces merchant
costs.

"Netscape's Secure Courier protocol delivers the first open, cross platform
solution for online electronic payments, advancing Internet security to a
new level," said Marc Andreessen, vice president of technology at
Netscape. "Today, a wide range of merchants are already successfully
conducting business on the net using SSL for secured communications. With
the development of Secure Courier and a complete open payment system
backed by industry-leading financial companies, consumers and merchants
can feel even more confident that sensitive financial transactions will be
protected."

"The safety of consumers' financial information is a top priority at
Intuit," said Scott Cook, chairman of Intuit, the makers of Quicken,
QuickBooks, and TurboTax. "We enthusiastically support the development of
open protocols, such as Secure Courier, which will help enable secure
electronic commerce on the Internet."

Secure Courier is a key part of Netscape's complete open payment system for
online transactions, which consists of three phases:

Phase 1: Enable reduced-cost commerce across the Internet by using SSL to
accept orders on the net, and authorizing and settling transactions
offline. Netscape implemented this phase during the first quarter of 1995
and is shipping SSL-enabled products. A number of customers are currently
using these products for secure online communications and commerce.

Phase 2: Build the infrastructure for PC-to-bank secure payments. Slated
for the third quarter of 1995, this phase includes the publishing of the
Secure Courier protocol specification and the licensing of Secure Courier
to partners. This phase is designed to establish the infrastructure for
increased security through a digital certificate and end-to-end encryption
of financial transactions.

Phase 3: Deliver products that include Secure Courier for end-to-end secure
electronic payments. This final phase, planned for the fourth quarter of
1995, will include the deployment of commercially supported software for
consumers, merchants, and financial service providers. With this software,
financial transactions can be accepted, authorized, and cleared over the
Internet with an increased level of security.

The specifications for the Secure Courier protocol are available now from
the Netscape Internet web site at
http://home.netscape.com/newsref/std/credit.html. A reference
implementation of Secure Courier is scheduled to be available before the
end of the year, and will be free for non-commercial use and available for
a nominal licensing fee by companies who want to use it in commercial
products.

Secure Courier is fully compatible with SSL, an open security protocol that
incorporates RSA Data Security technology for securing data
communicationsacross networks. Supported by more than fifteen companies,
SSL provides a straightforward method for adding strong security to
existing applications and network infrastructures. More than six million
people already have SSL-enabled products, which have been available since
December 1994. SSLis application protocol-independent and provides
encryption, which creates a secured channel to prevent others from tapping
into the network; authentication, which uses certificates and digital
signatures to verify the identity of parties in information exchanges and
transactions; and message integrity, which ensures that messages cannot be
altered en route. SSL will continue to be used to provide privacy,
authentication, and data integrity for all types of transaction data on
the Internet.

Netscape Communications Corporation is a premier provider of open software
to enable people and companies to exchange information and conduct
commerce over the Internet and other global networks. The company was
founded in April 1994 by Dr. James H. Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics,
Inc., a Fortune 500 computer systems company; and Marc Andreessen, creator
of the NCSA Mosaic research prototype for the Internet. Privately held,
Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View,
California.

Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is available
on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com/, by sending email to
info@netscape.com or by calling 415-528-2555.

Netscape Communications, the Netscape Communications logo, Netscape, and
Secure Courier are trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. All
other product names are trademarks of their respective companies.
 
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